Through the works of Lord Byron and Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, I explored the function of the themes of darkness and obscurity in Romanticism. There was a clear connection between the inclusion of these themes and the rejection of the Enlightenment period, which is what I focused on in this thesis. I discovered that the Romantics found inspiration and beauty in the darker, stranger aspects of the natural world, while rejecting the logical and rational beliefs of the Enlightenment.

The principal motive for this diploma thesis was to prove or to falsify the known theoretical possibility of interconnection between two different (non-bordering) literatures - that of Germany and that of Spain, via the works of their two essential 19th century poets, respectively, Heinrich Heine and Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer. This connection is often assumed, especially in the critical editions of the works of Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, as well as in some literary handbooks. Nevertheless, these assumptions often lack clear explanations. Regarding the methods of proving or disproving these theories mentioned above, I have drawn on all accessible theoretical works, analysing (mainly German) influences on the works of Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer. I also found it pertinent to view the works of both authors throughout time and place, in an attempt to identify analogies not only in the world of literature, but also in their real lives. Last but not least, I have tried to apply my own critical analysis to selected poems and legends of Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer to support the theoretical works with concrete examples. Concluding from the evidence of their contemporaries, as well as from the theoretical works of the literary critics, I have confirmed that neither Heine nor Bécquer had mastered the other language. In...